


I was maid for loving you

by kiki_92



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Bandit would not settle for a traditional proposal, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Introspection, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Siege the Valentine’s, Valentine's Day, maid outfit, no beta we die like (wo)men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29287110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiki_92/pseuds/kiki_92
Summary: Siege the Valentines Day 8 - An overheard conversation leads Bandit to consider an unorthodox way of showing his love for Jäger.
Relationships: Dominic "Bandit" Brunsmeier/Marius "Jäger" Streicher
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36
Collections: SiegeTheValentines_2021





	I was maid for loving you

**Author's Note:**

> Siege the Valentines Day 8  
>  _Planning and proposing to their significant other on Valentine’s Day._ \- I just finished this last night and barely had time to proofread it, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes or typos in there 😅
> 
> This story is based on an idea from **sisterskaoi** , thank you very much for randomly sliding into my DMs with ideas or snippets. Not only is it wonderful, it also gets my imagination running wild! And since I wanted to write something lighthearted this time, I went with this one ~~don't @me about the title, I was out of ideas and couldn't help myself xD~~

Bandit didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Not because he was above doing so, it could be a useful way to gather information in some situations. However, not in this scenario. 

He was approaching the workshop, for fuck’s sake, at most he expected to hear someone asking where certain tool was, or arguing about who misplaced what. Perhaps Jäger going on a tangent about the last documentary he’d seen. And he didn’t need to eavesdrop to hear any of that on a regular basis. However, here he was, behind the workshop’s door and caught unaware by IQ’s question. A question that wasn’t even directed at him. 

“Have you ever talked about making the relationship more official?” 

There was a beat of silence, as if Jäger was carefully pondering his answer, and Bandit’s hand hovered over the doorknob, assaulted by the need to hear the answer before announcing his presence. 

“We’ve been living together for two years now. Before that, we dated for another three. We spend every Christmas with Ced’s family, to the point the kids already call me uncle Marius. What’s more official than that, Monika?” 

“Don’t act dumb, you know perfectly well what I meant,” IQ swiftly answered, sounding mildly peeved. “After all this time together, have you never had a talk about marriage or your future?” 

While Bandit had always known IQ was quite the shameless gossip, these questions were veering dangerously into something too prying for his taste. Although Jäger didn’t seem to think that was an issue, since he was happily answering. 

“Yes. No. Sort of?” 

The hesitation in Jäger’s voice would have been cute if he wasn’t talking about their relationship. And now Bandit felt torn because while he never felt the need to discuss their future, it seemed like Jäger wasn’t so sure about it. IQ said something Bandit didn’t catch, her voice too soft and muffled by the distance and the door between them, but whatever she said it made Jäger snap out of his silence. 

“We never talked directly about marriage. I would accept if he proposed, but that seems as likely as him dressing up like a maid and serenading me, hahahaha.” There was a small pause, and Jäger sighed before explaining further. “When we started dating, Dom warned me to not expect many romantic gestures. It would be unfair if I waited for him to do exactly that.”

IQ made a pitiful noise, akin to a wounded animal, and Bandit bristled at it. What right did she have to comment on their relationship like that? Maybe he should start sniffing around her personal business and being all judgy, see how she liked it!

“You could always propose to him.”

“Come on, Moni, let it go. We’re happy and our relationship is as official as it gets,” Jäger said, and Bandit could imagine the fond smile on the engineer’s face. This answer soothed the doubts he didn’t know he had until he stumbled upon this conversation.

“If you’re happy then it’s all that matters,” IQ said. Although immediately afterwards she added, “So I take it you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day either?”

To be fair, she was laughing when she asked that, so Bandit was inclined to not hold it against her. Not much, at least. Her laughter grew louder, and he imagined Jäger must have made a funny face at the notion of celebrating what he dubbed as a cash grab holiday. He wasn’t wrong though. The engineer had strong opinions about Valentine’s Day, and he would gladly share them with whoever mentioned the damned day. 

Surmising this was the perfect moment to interrupt them, Bandit opened the door at last and barged into the room as if he just arrived. “What’s so funny?”

“Dom!” The engineer’s face lit up in happiness, and Bandit would never tire of seeing Jäger react like that. “Monika was talking about Valentine’s Day.”

“Too pink and sweet for my taste. But some of the lingerie they sell for that day would look amazing on you, babe,” Bandit winked at Jäger, getting closer to him until he could put his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“Did you want something, Dominic?” IQ asked, looking amused by his answer. “Or are you here just to distract my work partner?”

“Yes.” Bandit flashed a shit-eating grin at her, and draped himself over Jäger side, knowing it would tamper with the engineer’s ability to work. 

In fact, he came here to let IQ know she had to be in Six’s office in ten minutes, but she didn’t need to know that right now. Not when first he could spend five minutes annoying the living hell out of her. Jäger might eventually get a tad irritated with him too, but Bandit knew how to make it up to him.  
_ 

Rather than that being the end of the issue, it was the start of it. At no point did Jäger bring up the conversation he had with IQ, yet Bandit couldn’t stop thinking about it. At night, he lay in bed, hearing Jäger’s soft snoring while he mused about what he should do. Bandit had never considered getting married; in the early days of his career it was because he was too young and unattached to anyone, then he was undercover and forming or keeping a relationship in those conditions was impossible. And later on he just was sure a stable long-term relationship wasn’t in the cards for him. He’d been wrong.

It was funny to think Bandit barely spared a glance to Jäger when they first met, writing him off as uninteresting and inconsequential, since the engineer ended up being one of the most important people in his life. Bandit never thought of the future because he currently had more than he thought he would ever have, and wishing for more seemed like tempting fate. Or perhaps he feared commitment, sure that he would fuck it up eventually. Maybe he was just overthinking it and staying awake until 4 AM wouldn’t yield any answers or sudden revelation, just a feeling of exhaustion for the next day.

He needed help, an outside perspective, to help him put his ideas in order. Usually, when Bandit found himself in a similar situation, he would go to Jäger, but not this time. He trusted his boyfriend unconditionally, but it wouldn’t be fair asking Jäger to help him figure out his feelings. No, this was something he had to do on his own, and then he could approach Jäger. Therefore, that only left one other option to turn for counsel: his friends.

Thermite and Kapkan weren’t exactly what most people would consider a source of solid relationship advice, but they knew him better than most, they were honest, and most importantly, Bandit trusted them. He waited until they were done with training and it was just the three of them lounging near the Stadium, having a beer and poking fun at Thermite for his low tolerance to cold weather.

“Hey Max,” Bandit called out during a lull in the conversation. “Have you and Timur ever talked about marriage?”

Kapkan stared at him like he had just spotted a wild animal approaching him while he was unarmed. Even Thermite looked at him as if Bandit had just sprouted a second head. After a few seconds of intense staring, the hunter finally answered, “No. But we have talked about which country we could live in. Once we retire, I mean.”

Right. That was a quite important consideration, especially for them. It was also implicitly making plans for a future together, and while Bandit and Jäger hadn’t done that, it wasn’t because he didn’t want Jäger around, and assumed it was the same for Jäger. Otherwise the engineer would have told him… right? 

“Are you planning to pop The Question?” Thermite regarded him with a surprised expression.

“I’m not sure,” Bandit answered truthfully.

“Well, you better be sure before you ask!” Kapkan huffed a humorless laugh, and Bandit started getting defensive.

“I know that, thank you,” he bit out more aggressively than it was usual for him. “I’m still thinking about it.”

A dense silence fell upon them, and as always it was Thermite who broke it first, playing with his beer as he thought of how to word what he wanted to say. 

“I’m no relationship expert,” he began, “but I don’t see why you hesitate. It’s clear you love Marius, and you already live and act like you’re married. Is it because you’re unsure of what his reaction would be?”

Bandit mumbled a few words under his breath, not even forming full sentences, before drifting off into silence again. He didn’t doubt how Jäger’s would react, that wasn’t the problem. And he wasn’t keen on putting into words what was the problem, since he wasn’t sure what the issue was. Kapkan saved him from the awkward conversation Bandit himself started, since the Russian directed the conversation towards Thermite’s acquaintance with Rainbow’s most recent addition. 

However, Thermite’s words were lodged in Bandit’s mind for the rest of the day. If he wasn’t afraid of rejection, what was he scared of? He didn’t consider himself a coward, or reticent to take risks. Hell, his entire career was a testament to that. Yet there was a difference between risking his life and risking his heart. It was a different type of cowardice, and when it came to admitting vulnerability, deep down Bandit was terrified. Nothing lasts forever, so wasn’t then protecting himself from the future pain a wiser choice? 

Except it didn’t need to be like that. Despite how good it was to live with Jäger, it wasn’t perfect. They still argued, they still said things in the heat of the moment they later regretted and apologized for. Yet Bandit wouldn’t change it for anything. And Jäger hadn’t left yet, nor did he seem unhappy. And maybe Bandit didn’t want to tempt fate by changing their relationship in any way. However, he also knew nothing can remain untouched and stagnant forever.

He mulled over it for a few more days and in the end, Bandit decided Jäger was worth the risk, same as when he first asked him out all those years ago. The idea of being able to introduce Marius as _his_ husband had a much stronger appeal than he first imagined. And while he often reminded himself everything eventually ended, he wanted to hope maybe he and Jäger would be able to grow old together. Not that he would admit this to anyone, except to Marius himself, if he ever asked.

Now he just needed to work on the details of how he was going to spring out the question to Jäger… A terrible idea took root in his mind, based on something Jäger said to IQ, _‘as likely as Bandit dressing up like a maid and serenading him’_. Well, now he had to do just that!  
_ 

The most challenging part of Bandit’s plans was to get the ring. Not because choosing one was a hard task, but because he intended to keep it a secret until the last moment. He never realised how he was constantly surrounded by people: his friends, teammates, training, Jäger… How could he get a few hours of privacy snubbing no one? It wouldn’t do for any of them to become suspicious. Rumors had a tendency to spread like fire, and Bandit wasn’t about to risk anything ruining the surprise.

Bandit was nothing if persistent, and in the end he found the perfect ring and managed to quietly disappear from the base for a short time in order to go buy it. Ever since he got his hands on the little box, he could feel a tiny weight in his pocket. It seemed to burn him through his clothes, the anticipation for the day becoming so thick Bandit thought it might suffocate him. He was nervous too, suddenly second guessing the plan. 

There had been a splendid opportunity during movie night where he could have slinked away unseen to change, then come back and spring the surprise on his unsuspecting boyfriend. However, he hesitated instead of acting, and when Jäger curled against his side, Bandit gleefully used it as an excuse of why he could not move - he would alert Jäger that something was going on, right? Yeah, better to wait for the next opportunity.

More than a week passed, and Bandit still hadn’t proposed. At this point, his nervousness had morphed into impatience, and he realised that if he was waiting for the perfect moment, he would probably keep waiting forever. Right, he would ask tonight, come hell or high water. No more waiting.

However, the universe seemed to be either testing him or laughing at him, since they already agreed ages ago to a little outing. Mozzie was celebrating his birthday a couple of days early, since it was more convenient to do so a Saturday night than on Monday, and he invited everyone to a couple of drinks at a local bar. Bandit of course accepted the invitation, since it was always nice to get free drinks, and convinced Jäger to come with him.

The rational option would be to wait yet another day to propose, but Bandit was determined. He was sure Mozzie wouldn’t mind much if they stole the spotlight for a moment, not with what Bandit had planned. Now the tricky part was how to smuggle the maid outfit to the venue without rousing anyone’s suspicions. He _could_ ask for help, but Bandit would rather find another solution that didn’t involve that. In the end, after hours of intermittently thinking about this in-between rounds of training, he found the answer. Now he just had to wait for the night to come.   
_

The bar had been reserved just for them, and yet it was crowded. Despite - or maybe because of- his boisterous personality, most people at the base liked Mozzie, and it seemed like all of Rainbow had crammed here this night. There were notable exceptions, but no one Bandit truly cared about. However, while he was fine with the idea of serenading and proposing to Jäger in front of all their friends, perhaps he should wait until the crowd thinned a little.

At the very least, he would wait until Harry was gone. His appearance was a surprise to everyone, and it was a nice gesture, he supposed. Yet despite Harry’s attempts at being congenial, he was still their boss - one who often acted as a psychologist too. It was uncomfortable to have him there. 

Once Harry eventually left, Bandit waited a short while before he silently retreated as well. He went out to retrieve an unsuspecting bag from the trunk of his car, then went back inside, to the bathroom. Changing clothes in one of the stalls seemed complicated because of the lack of space, so Bandit opted to shrug off his clothes in the middle of the men’s bathroom, hoping nobody would enter but not really caring that much. 

The maid dress was fairly easy to slip on, although zipping it closed was trickier than he imagined. The stockings were a completely different issue, though, one that Bandit would describe as a torture of frustration. He yanked them up too harshly and the flimsy, delicate fabric teared. Muttering the most creative German insults and swears he knew, Bandit brought up his leg, resting the foot on the sink in order to assess the damage. Right then, the door opened and Lion froze in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at Bandit.

Bandit stared back and smirked at him. “Yes, this is exactly what it looks like. Any questions?”

“You were dry humping the sink?” Lion asked in a deadpan way, and Bandit laughed because he hadn’t expected the Frenchman to have a sense of humor.

Since Lion was here, Bandit decided he might as well get some use out of his presence. He brought his leg down, smoothed the ruffled skirt and opened his arms in order to show off the whole ensemble. “How do I look?” 

The question made Lion frown disapprovingly, and he made a small noise in the back of his throat. If it was any other person, Bandit might have taken that as a sign that he looked _good_ , but knowing Lion, the religious priss was probably biting his tongue to not call Bandit a harlot or similar. Perfect, that meant his appearance would be memorable, just as he expected. 

Unable to resist messing up with the uptight attacker, Bandit bent down in a rather impractical way to retrieve and put on the high-heeled shoes. It was way too amusing to see Lion’s reactions, especially his scowl of disgust when Bandit told him to not get any ideas; he was a taken man already. Soon to be engaged, if everything worked out as he hoped. 

He pushed past a dumbfounded Lion and walked out of the bathroom. Right, this was the moment of truth. With every step Bandit took towards his boyfriend, he could feel everyone’s eyes on him, the conversations dying down and being replaced by hushed and frantic whispers. Bandit forged ahead until he was in front of Jäger, who eyed him in confusion. Damn, Jäger was just adorable, taking in Bandit’s outfit with an appreciative look, yet tilting his head as he always did when he was deep in thought. 

Bandit took a knee, looking up at him and winking before he breathed in deeply and belted out, " _And I... will always love you, ooh~_ "

Shocked laughter filled the room, but Bandit didn’t mind. He only had eyes for Jäger while he sang only slightly off key, and while the engineer’s face was pink, he didn’t look displeased or embarrassed. In fact, the longer Bandit kept singing, the more amused Jäger seemed to be. His lips had curled in a delightful small smile, and people were cheering at him as much as they were laughing. 

The moment Bandit reached into the ruffled apron and took out a ring sized box, a sudden silence fell upon the crowd. Jäger was the exception, since he started laughing in earnest now. Any other person might have worried to have their partner break into hysterical giggles right as they proposed, but Bandit had expected this reaction. He waited for the engineer’s laughing to subside, and the entire room seemed to hold its collective breath until Jäger calmed enough to say a simple yes before taking the ring and putting it on.

There might have been some cheering and loud clapping, but Bandit barely noticed it. The rest of the world became dimmed and blurry as he stared at the thin band now adorning Jäger’s finger. He hadn’t expected to have such a visceral reaction to the sight, but it felt so right, and appeased his more possessive side in a way he never considered before. Bandit felt the urge to kiss his fiancee -and that didn’t sound weird, he even liked it- but before he could act, someone interrupted them with a comment loud enough to be heard over all the other noise.

“Proposing on V day? I didn’t know people actually did that outside of movies!” Mozzie’s words struck a chord in Bandit, who cursed the fact he had waited for so long that now this date was so close to Valentine’s day.

“It’s the thirteenth today,” he shouted back at the Australian while getting up and sitting next to Jäger. “Not V day. The thirteenth!”

“Nah, check the clock, mate. It’s past midnight already!”

A quick glance at his own phone confirmed that, regrettably, Mozzie was right. It was ten minutes past midnight, and technically already the fourteenth of February. Shit.

“I can’t believe you actually proposed like that and on Valentine’s day, no less,” Jäger sighed, acting as if he was cross with him, but the soft smile on his face betrayed his true feelings. “I might have a legit reason to start celebrating the day.”

Bandit shrugged, “That wasn’t according to the plan, but I suppose I can live with it.”

Deep down he was convinced people would never let him live it down, and while Bandit would have preferred that his proposal didn’t fall on that notorious day, he didn’t truly regret it. Not when Jäger kept fiddling with the ring and looking as if he was seconds away from pinching himself to make sure he was awake. It wasn’t until the general attention shifted away from them that Jäger quietly asked, “Did Monika tell you about our conversation? Or did you listen to it?”

“It was an accident, but that was the kick in the ass I needed to act.” His confession made Jäger frown, and Bandit knew him well enough to imagine what was going through his head. Bandit would have never proposed if he wasn’t sure he wanted to, and the last thing he wanted was for Jäger to think he’d felt pressured or some other nonsense. 

“You always motivate me to be a better version of myself, Mari.” Which isn’t very difficult because the bar was quite low, but maybe that part was better left unsaid. He didn’t want Jäger rethinking his answer, after all; although that seemed unlikely with how he was looking at him, as if Bandit had just offered him the fucking moon. “Now, Jägerchen, since I went on my knees for you, would you return the favor?”

“I don’t have… Oh.” It was clear when the meaning of Bandit’s words finally sunk in, but he hadn’t expected Jäger to lean across the table to kiss him. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go home then.”

The engineer’s eagerness was Bandit’s undoing, and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night in bed, celebrating. He got up from the table and hoisted Jäger up, carrying him over his shoulder. It certainly was a dramatic exit, and it was a fitting goodbye after the outlandish proposal from scant minutes ago. Maybe they could get started in the car, because Jäger might have wanted to go home -to the base, presumably- but Bandit didn't care where he was, as long as Jäger was by his side, he was already home.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://r6shippingdelivery.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/kikipeachywitch)!


End file.
